The Fair Grove Scholar Bowl team is gearing up for an exciting season that will showcase their intellectual prowess and teamwork. This team is led by Michelle Wahlquist, who has been in education for 33 years.
The Fair Grove Scholar Bowl team has been practicing weekly and will soon be practicing twice a week to prepare the team members for upcoming competitions. Wahlquist says that the team is made up of very talented students who are really dedicated to this team and are ready to improve their skills and knowledge. These students include Madison Crews (10), Chase Hale (10), and Audrey Johnson (9).
As a new addition to the team, Hale said he was very eager and ready for this season. Hale also mentioned that this is his first year and has come in with an open mind. With this being his first year he was questionable how it would go, but mentioned, “It has helped me gain a sense of responsibility and teamwork. I’m more prone to get my work done and study. I’m genuinely motivated to try and am actually interested in the stuff we do.”
Hale really has enjoyed this Scholar Bowl season so far this year and wanted to tell incoming students not to worry about trying to be smart enough or know everything. He then continued, “We are all a team and our collective and diverse knowledge is what helps us to win.”
Scholar Bowl is an event for students who are interested in being on a competitive academic team. This is a team of students who answer questions on a wide range of subjects, some of which include science, math, history and literature. Teams compete against other schools in a quiz format. During competitions to answer questions you and your team have to buzz in to earn points.
The team practices in the school library and might have the opportunity to compete in Regionals and State. If this group qualifies, they will travel to Chicago for the National competitions. The team uses tournament practice packets and online quiz sites to help prepare them for competitions. Walquist added, “I also challenge them with some specific category homework.”
Although many people mistaken Scholar Bowl for a club, Walquist stated, “Scholar Bowl is a MSHSAA (Missouri State High School Activities Association) activity in which school teams compete against others just like Speech and Debate teams or any of the athletic teams.” Walquist followed, “We have District, Sectionals, State and even National competitions.”
